


waiting (together, we wait and hope)

by Lir_Soracia



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Anxiety, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Families of Choice, Family Feels, Fluff, Friendship, Hopeful Ending, Hurt Alec Lightwood, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Sad Magnus Bane, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:01:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27100039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lir_Soracia/pseuds/Lir_Soracia
Summary: Alec is still unconscious, and Magnus is waiting, hoping to see those beautiful hazel green eyes again. But he is neither patient nor accustomed to being powerless. Catarina helps.
Relationships: Magnus Bane & Catarina Loss, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29
Collections: Shadowhunters ▶ Magnus Bane / Alec Lightwood





	waiting (together, we wait and hope)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [brightasstars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightasstars/gifts).



> Prompt words from Bright: support, tea, strength
> 
> There's not nearly enough fic about Magnus's relationships with his friends, or about Catarina in general. I love the way they care for each other, and _take care_ of each other too. So here is my "Magnus & friendship" contribution!

"I don't... I don't know how to do this, Cat," Magnus said, looking down at his hands, folded helplessly in his lap. 

"No one ever does," Catarina told him gently, coming back from the kitchen with two steaming cups of tea. "Drink this," she ordered, handing one to Magnus. 

He did as he was told, sighing and settling closer, pressing their shoulders together as she sat down next to him. "I can't... I can't help," he said bleakly, staring into to his tea as if it might tell him something he could do after all. 

"You can't," Catarina agreed softly. "This time you can't, and neither can I. All we can do is wait."

Magnus winced. He was not good at that. But unfortunately, she was right. "What if he doesn't wake up?" he whispered, thinking of his boyfriend lying silent and still in the Institute infirmary, as he'd been for over three days now.

"He will," Catarina promised. "Jem was sure they got to him in time, thanks to you." Alec had been poisoned by a demon's claws slashing open his side, but the worst was that magic couldn't heal it. The venom rendered both magic and runes barely even effective, and Magnus could have done without seeing so much of Alexander's blood _ever_. 

He shuddered a little, sipping his tea and leaning his head on Catarina's shoulder. The two of them had done what little they could for Alec, but the gash in his side had to be stitched up and bandaged the mundane way. Alec had fallen unconscious as soon he'd been laid out on the bed, and they hadn't been able to wake him, not even the Silent Brothers, though they had at least gotten him stable. 

Brother Zechariah - Jem, as Magnus knew him - was still with Alec now, monitoring and speeding up the healing in ways only Silent Brothers could, but Magnus knew he was frustrated. The Shadowhunters' healing methods were only marginally more effective than Magnus's magic, but he kept trying. He'd banished Magnus from the infirmary about an hour ago, promising to stay with Alec while Magnus got some rest that was not just napping on and off in the chair next to Alec's bed.

Catarina had followed to make sure he did so, the soothing chamomile tea being the first step in helping him wind down enough to sleep. 

"Thanks," he murmured, kissing her cheek. He knew she would understand it was for more than the tea. He was incredibly grateful to have a friend willing to wait with him while he worried, fretted, paced around and had nightmares when he did get to sleep. 

"He'll be fine, Magnus," Catarina assured him, and he nodded slowly against her shoulder. "You will be too," she added, more softly. "I know you can do this, and be there for him when he wakes up. You are the strongest person I know. He'll have to heal the mundane way, and he'll hate it, but he'll have you. You make him stronger too, and you'll get through this. Together." 

Tears pricked Magnus's eyes, but he blinked them back, taking a long, slow breath and letting it out in a shaky exhale. He nodded slowly, lifting his head for another sip of the comforting tea, relaxing a little as the heat of it spread through his body, slowly and gradually chasing away the cold tendrils of worry, anxiety and tension. 

"Together." He murmured it like a prayer; perhaps it was. "Stronger together," he added, louder and more decisive. "We can do this. We _will_." Catarina just smiled at him, and reached over to squeeze one of his hands. 

Together they would wait until Alec woke up.


End file.
